


The long night

by Crystal_E_Fall



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Action, Angst, Billy Batson Needs a Hug, Blood, Did I Mention Angst?, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Billy Batson, Protective Freddy Freeman, Protective Mary Bromfield, Suspense, because i can't help myself, is this based on an obscure tv show episode? why yes yes it is, sibling feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28856910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_E_Fall/pseuds/Crystal_E_Fall
Summary: "When she woke up and the cops interrogated her..." Mary paused. "They... they think Billy did it."For a moment, all Freddy could do was stare. Then... "WHAT?"-Billy being accused of a terrible crime he didn't commit is NOT something the Shazamily planned on dealing with at one in the morning. But with the police banging on the front door, they don't have much of a choice...
Relationships: Billy Batson & Freddy Freeman, Billy Batson & Mary Bromfield, Billy Batson & Mary Bromfield & Eugene Choi & Darla Dudley & Freddy Freeman & Pedro Peña
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm publishing my first fic on here. Heck, I can't believe I finished this fanfic. Four months of writing and rewriting and banging my head (figuratively) against the wall have finally given fruit and I'm so excited to share it with you: The long night. So long in fact that I had to divide the story into two parts.
> 
> This is loosely based on an episode of the same name from the 1968 TV Show Skippy. Very loosely, as this fic instead of kangaroos and national park rangers has superhero siblings, more action, more family feels... and more angst. I just can't seem to help myself with the last one when I write lol.
> 
> Anyway, enough of my talking. Hope you like it!

_**Part 1** _

It was well past midnight when Mary parked her car outside the Vasquez house. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she quickly gathered her most necessary things and trundled up towards the front door. She probably should’ve taken her suitcase out of the trunk, but that would have to wait until tomorrow - the call of her bed was too strong to be rejected even for two minutes. And it wasn’t like she would be unpacking anything tonight anyway. 

Only when she had entered the hallway did she notice that the light in the lounge room was on. A frown crossed her features.

_Who would be awake at this hour?_

The answer came a second later. “Hello? _Mama_ Rosa _,_ dad, is that you?”

Entering the room, Mary couldn’t help but smile as she caught sight of Freddy sprawled out on one of the couches. By the crutch leaning against the coffee table and the blanket across his legs it was clear he hadn’t moved for quite some time. 

“Mary!” Freddy cried with a broad grin, quickly turning the TV’s volume down. “What- how- but I thought you weren’t coming home from college until next _week_!”

Mary sat down next to him and hugged him tightly. “That was the plan, but when I heard _mama_ and dad were going away tonight to visit dad’s foster mum, I thought I’d come home early to surprise them. And spend some extra time with my favourite siblings, of course.”

“Wow, I’m so flattered that I’m your favourite,” Freddy said, pretending not to hear the ‘s.’ 

She laughed softly. “By the way, why aren’t you in bed? It’s quarter past one, and you have school tomorrow!”

“I know, I know. It’s just, uh… Billy, he… he snores. Yeah. He’s going on like an elephant up there, so I thought I’d, uh, wait down here for a while until I’m so tired I can’t hear him?”

Even if Mary hadn’t been an expert at reading her siblings by now, she’d still know Freddy was lying. The fiddling hands, the stammering, the constant eye movement… lying was definitely not one of his skills. But she also knew he’d be more likely to tell her if she didn’t pressure him. 

“I’m gonna make some tea,” she said instead, standing up. “You want some?”

“Um, sure. With-”

“With milk and a teaspoon of honey. I know.”

“Thanks, Mary.”

If she had looked back into the lounge room while the kettle was boiling, she would have seen a very anxious Freddy with his phone to his ear. Noticed his brow crease in annoyance as he was brought to voicemail. 

And, more importantly, she would have heard him hiss, “Billy, where are you? Mary just came home - did you know she was coming home early? Anyway, she’s asking questions and she’s gonna see through me any second now and you know what she’s like when it comes to superheroing on school nights, so… so get your superpowered butt here right now before she finds out!”

:::

The two of them had only been sitting on the couch for a few minutes, drinking tea and watching a cartoon (thankfully, Mary hadn’t needled him any more… yet) when a joyful tune cut through the room. 

Freddy lowered the TV’s sound again as Mary pulled her phone out. “That’s weird,” she said. “who would call now?”

“Maybe our parents?”

“Maybe… but I don’t recognize the number.” Mary shrugged before answering. “Hello, Mary Bromfield? Oh… hi. How can I help you, officer?”

_Officer?_ Freddy leaned closer, trying and failing to hear the person on the other end. 

“Yes, this is the Vasquez house... No, they’re not home right now, they’re out- mhm…” The colour drained from her face. “What? There must’ve been a mistake. Billy would never…”

_Billy._ Freddy felt his stomach drop. What had happened? Had the cops discovered his superhero alter-ego? No, that didn’t really make sense in context… What if they had arrested him?! Billy had broken into a police car once while looking for his mum (he’d told Freddy that himself), but that wasn’t enough to go to jail… right? _Right?_

Or what if he was hurt? What if he was in the hospital, blood everywhere, missing a freaking arm or something- _god, Freddy, stop with the morbid fantasies, he’s fine, he has to be fine-_

“Alright,” Mary was saying, biting her lip, “Alright, I-I understand. See you soon. Bye.”

“What the heck was that about?” Freddy half-yelled the second she hung up. “Why were the cops asking after _Billy_? Is he okay? Where-”

He stopped himself mid-rant as the quiet thud of feet against stairs was heard. Soon Eugene appeared in the doorway, yawning and with a tremendous case of bedhead.

“Hey, Freddy, is Billy back y- Mary!” 

“Hey,” Mary said, smiling as she got her arms full of little brother. Then the full force of what he’d said seemed to hit her. “Wait… Billy’s not home? Where is he?”

Oh, _crap._ Now they were done for. “Uh, that’s- that’s a funny story actually.” Freddy laughed nervously. “See, we were coming home from school and I was really craving doughnuts, you know how it is, and uh- we were- that is-”

“He’s out on patrol,” Eugene cut in.

Freddy looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Dude!”

“What? It’s not like she would’ve believed you anyway.”

“... That’s true, but still!” 

He turned towards Mary, ready to try and explain himself (and Billy), but the words caught in his throat. Because in her eyes he could possibly, maybe, definitely see tears forming. Unimaginable dread curled in his stomach as he remembered the phone call. 

“Mary? Mary, w-what did they say to you?”

Eugene glanced between them, confused. “Who said what?” 

“Freddy, do you know where Billy is right now?” Mary asked. “Any idea at all?”

“Philly? Unless he’s been taken to Alcatraz-”

Eugene’s frown grew deeper. “Billy’s been arrested? Are we doing a jail heist?”

“-been kidnapped by aliens or he’s lying in a sewer in Florida- Mary, you know what my imagination’s like so tell me what the heck is going on before… I don’t really know, but you get the point!”

A beat passed in silence. Then Mary drew a shuddering breath, voice only shaking a little as she started to speak. 

“About three hours ago, a woman was found near the subway. She… someone had stabbed her. Thankfully she got to the hospital in time, but when she woke up and the cops interrogated her...” She paused. “They… they think Billy did it.”

For a moment, all Freddy could do was stare. Then…

“WHAT?!”

“Shh!” Mary grabbed his arm. “Don’t wake Darla!”

“But Mary,” he said in a quieter voice (but not much), “that’s insane! Billy would never- never _stab someone_! He’s Sha- Captain Sparklefingers!”

“I know, I know, but the cops don’t know that and we can’t tell them, can we? They’re coming in about fifteen minutes and if Billy’s not here when they arrive, i-it’s gonna look like...” 

As she trailed off, rubbing her hands across her face, Freddy felt the warmth leave his body. He hadn’t even thought of it that way. How were they supposed to explain Billy’s absence without lying (and getting Billy into potentially more trouble) or revealing their identities? 

_We have to find him. Now._

Apparently Eugene had reached the same conclusion, the words “I’ll get Pedro” barely leaving his lips before he was thundering back up the stairs. Mary seemed too worked up by now to remind him of not waking Darla, phone in hand once again.

“ _Mama_ and dad,” she explained when she saw his gaze. 

Freddy nodded - there were no other two people he wished for more in the world right now. Except Billy of course… 

As Mary lifted the phone to her ear he glanced out the window, desperately hoping for his brother to appear. But there was nothing. No man in glowing spandex descending from the sky. No smaller figure walking along the gaslit street. Not even a lightning bolt in the distance.

_Billy, where are you?_

:::

Billy hadn’t meant for it to get so late. Honestly. The others had gone home just before Darla’s bedtime, done with patrol for the day, and he’d said he would be home soon, just _one more lap around the city._

Well, that lap had turned into two, and then he’d spotted (and stopped) a guy trying to steal a super fancy sports car, and then he’d just happened to fly by that warehouse he and Freddy had tested his superpowers in all those months ago and… and he’d gotten a bit nostalgic, alright? It was there everything in some ways had started, after all. 

The moon was well up by the time he Shazam-ed back into his regular body and stepped out onto the street again. He knew he should fly home immediately, but night had been so quiet and peaceful… and the Vasquez house wasn’t _that_ far away, twenty minutes tops, so what was the harm in walking home?

Now that he stood in the driveway staring at _Mary’s car_ and the lights still on in the living room _,_ he really wanted to go back in time and slap some sense into himself because _oh shit,_ if Mary found out...

Why hadn’t Freddy warned him?! He dug out his phone from his jacket pocket, ready to send an angry text to his brother, but the screen stayed black. 

Well, that explained the lack of warning. 

But he still had a chance, right? If he snuck _really quietly_ through the front door, avoided the noisy stair step and managed to keep Freddy from chatting with him too much he could jump in bed and then Mary would never know…

Taking a deep breath, Billy crossed the front yard and pushed the door handle down carefully. 

The hallway was a patchwork of various shades of darkness, made by the faint light escaping from the lounge room. Creeping towards the stairs, Billy strained his ears, ready to hide at the first sign of movement. But all was still, the only sound being the murmur of voices in the lit up room. Probably Mary and someone else… maybe Freddy? Yeah, that sounded a bit like Freddy. Good. With him most likely talking Mary’s ear off, Billy’s odds of getting upstairs unnoticed were significantly better. 

He didn’t dare breathe out for real though until he’d reached the top of the stairs, successfully having skipped the broken step. Stealing one last glance downstairs and still seeing no change, he allowed himself a small smile of relief as he rounded the corner…

… and ran right into Eugene and Pedro. 

For a second, the three of them simply stared at each other. Then Eugene let out a dramatic sigh. “Thank god you’re back! No way we could’ve searched the city in fifteen minutes!”

The way they looked at him, the fact that it was one-thirty AM and they both were dressed… something must’ve happened. Something bad.

_Shit,_ was that the real reason why Mary was home? 

“What’s going on?”

“Best to talk downstairs,” was the only answer Pedro gave. 

As they descended the stairs together, hundreds of scenarios flew through his head in a whirlwind of a dread. What if a supervillain had discovered their alter egos? What if something had happened to Victor and Rosa?

And he hated, _hated_ the question that stirred most of all. The question he knew was irrational, nonsensical, irrelevant. One that was rooted so deep it remained anyway. 

What if they didn’t want him anymore?

Mary and Freddy must’ve heard them coming down the stairs, as the second the three of them entered the lounge room Mary lunged forward, wrapping Billy in her arms. 

With his nerves on edge and head full of fears, Billy’s first instinct was to shrink away from the sudden contact. He only just managed to stop himself ( _It’s just Mary, calm down, calm down, calm down_ ), but not fast enough to return the embrace. 

Thankfully, Freddy chose that moment to shriek from the couch, “Where the heck were you?! And why didn’t you answer my calls, I thought you were lying dead in a ditch somewhere or the cops had gotten you or-” 

As Freddy cut himself off to pull in air, Billy glanced at Mary. “Cops?” The word came out a lot weaker than he’d hoped.

_Pull it together, Batson!_

Reaching out again, Mary gently guided him towards the couch. The look in her eyes… Billy hadn’t seen it since the time Sivana came to their house. 

With all the siblings (minus Darla) now sitting down, Mary drew a steadying breath and began to talk. 

:::

“They… they think _I_ did it?”

“I know, right?!” Freddy cried, throwing his hands up. “It’s mad! Even more mad than when The Joker was an evil god in the comics… or when Superman and Batman time-travelled to the American Revolution and Batman was accused of being a witch! Or-”

Freddy knew he was rambling, probably not even vaguely making sense, but it was the only thing he could think of doing. Only way of coping with the ashen look that had taken over Billy’s face. 

Billy on his part wasn’t listening, too caught up in his quickly spiraling thoughts. 

The police thought he’d tried to _kill someone_ . Even the victim was saying so. What were the odds of them believing some fourteen-year-old kid with a record over the _victim_? Zero. Less than zero. And they were coming here, any minute now, and they would arrest him, take him away from the only family he’d truly had and he’d go to juvie o-or back into the foster system-

“Billy.” 

Gentle hands cupping his cheeks brought him back to the present. Blinking, he saw that Mary was standing in front of him... blocking the door out to the back yard. 

Funny. Billy couldn’t remember leaving the lounge room. 

“Hey.” Mary brought her hands down towards his arms. Hovering for a moment to give him a chance to pull away if he wished. Squeezing them comfortingly when he didn’t. “Where are you going?”

“I… I don’t know.”

It was the truth. His mind was still a swirling mess, heart thrumming, body tense. Every part of him ready for flight. Ready to run like he always did. Always used to do, he tried to remind himself. Before Shazam, before getting closure with his mum, before finding this family. He didn’t run anymore. _Shouldn’t_ be running. 

A small laugh escaped his lips. Old habits died hard, it seemed. 

“Hey,” Mary said again, softer this time. “I know this is scary. And don’t say it isn’t,” she added as he gave a half-hearted scoff, “because I’m scared too. 

“But I know as well as you that you didn’t do it. I know it. As does everyone in this house. Heck, even if she’d been a supervillain you wouldn’t have done it unless you had no choice. 

“What I’m trying to say,” she met his gaze, “whatever connection the cops have found to you, it’s false. And once we’ve answered their questions, they’ll know it too.”

_But what if… what if they don’t believe me?_

Maybe he said the words out loud. Maybe Mary could read them on his face. Or maybe it was just a coincidence that her next words were, “We _won’t_ let them take you away for something you didn’t do. I won’t. Our siblings won’t. And Victor and Rosa certainly won’t. Okay?”

The determination in her voice, the care, the _love…_ Billy didn’t know what to do with it or how to answer it. He settled for muttering a quiet “Okay,” hoping fervently the dimness of the room concealed the heat colouring his cheeks. 

“Okay.” Mary smiled softly. “Ready to go back? We need to figure out what to tell the cops. ‘Cause I don’t think any of us are in the mood for secret identity reveals tonight.”

That made Billy smile a little too. “Definitely not.”

As Mary slung an arm across his shoulders (once again giving him the choice to avoid the touch first) Billy drew in a deep breath, the anxiety that had filled him slowly giving way to annoyance. He shouldn’t have needed reassurance. Shouldn’t have freaked out like this. Mary was right - he was innocent, so this would all work out.

Right?

_Right?_

:::

Two police officers arrived twenty minutes later.

After one of them, a tall man with curly brown hair and a stomach straining against his uniform jacket, had introduced himself as Jenkins and his partner, a straight-backed woman with even straighter black hair, as Winton, Mary beckoned them inside.

Despite what she’d told Billy earlier, Mary couldn’t help the way her heartbeat picked up a little. With the cops here, looking very serious on top of that, the situation seemed all the more real… and all the more unsettling.

_Mama_ and dad would be home in an hour and a half. They could handle things until then. _She_ could handle it. 

_Just stay calm. For Billy’s sake as much as for yours._

Only Pedro and Billy were in the lounge room when she and the cops, sitting in the same place she’d left them. They had decided that Freddy and Eugene wouldn't be in the room during the interrogation, as to not crowd the officers. Neither of them had been too pleased about it, especially Freddy (mostly because he wanted to be there for Billy, Mary could tell), but they had perked up a bit when given the tasks to look for anything online about the stabbing as well as to check in with their parents. Eugene had already had his nose buried in his phone when the two of them headed into the kitchen. 

After further introductions, silence settled over the lounge room’s five occupants. Mary, still standing up, flicked her gaze towards Billy. His face gave nothing away, features schooled into the mask of neutrality that he’d hidden so often behind when he’d first come to the Vasquez house. But now Mary could see the subtle cracks - jaw slightly tensed, cheeks a little too pale - that revealed his true emotions. 

If only she could’ve not let the cops in, could throw them out again, could take Billy by the arm and run… anything to not put him through this. 

She glanced fervently at Pedro, sitting at Billy’s side. His calm, familiar, dark eyes stared back. _Everything’s going to be okay,_ they seemed to say. _You’ve got this._

Mary drew a breath. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. 

_I’ve got this._

Then she turned to the police officers sitting on the couch closest to the door.

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?” she asked, voice a lot more even than she’d expected. 

The man - Jenkins - shook his head, giving her what was probably meant to be a reassuring smile. In her nervous state, she couldn’t tell. “Thank you, but this won’t take long.”

Nodding in reply, Mary went and sat down next to Billy, boxing him in between her and Pedro. She wanted to reach out and take his hand too, but knew he wouldn’t like it - showing that kind of vulnerability in front of the cops would be the last thing he’d want to do. Hopefully having her and Pedro close would offer some semblance of comfort at least.

Winton, the policewoman, brought out a small notepad and pen from her pocket, flicking it open to a blank page. Her sharp eyes focused on Billy. “Where were you at ten PM yesterday?”

:::

Whatever Billy had expected of the interrogation, it hadn’t been that it would be this… _easy._

Winton had seemed bored, uninterested even as she asked him about his movements in the past four hours, occasionally interrupted by a half-hearted hum from Jenkins to show he was listening. Even after ten minutes, the notepad only had a line or two on it.

It was almost as if… as if they’d already decided he wasn’t guilty. 

Quickly, he pushed away the hope that sparked in his chest at the thought. If he’d learnt anything from his time on the streets, it was to never trust anything at face value. No. Better to be cautious until he knew for sure. 

… But the feeling kept creeping through his mind as he told the modified story he and the others had decided on: how he, Freddy, Eugene, Darla and Pedro had been out, trying to get a closer look at the superheroes flying over the city (“I mean, becoming the superheroes _is_ the closest look you can get of them,” Freddy had pointed out with a grin). How he and the others had headed home a little after ten, but that he hadn’t been able to sleep and gone for a walk around one AM (“Best to stick to the truth,” Eugene had said, “in case you walked past any security cameras on the way home”). How he’d arrived back at the house around one-thirty, just after Mary. 

And the police officers didn’t question anything. Didn’t ask for more details. Nothing. 

“Thank you for your cooperation,” was all Winton said when he’d finished talking, flipping her notepad shut again. She glanced at Jenkins. “If you’ll excuse us, we’d like to confer in private for a moment.”

“Also, if we could look through whatever belongings you would’ve had with you at the time of the crime. For protocol’s sake,” Jenkins added reassuringly.

The idea of someone going through his things made Billy’s stomach tighten, but there was no way he could decline without it seeming suspicious. He forced himself to nod. “My backpack’s in my and Freddy’s room.”

“Excellent. Then my partner and I’ll talk up there.”

Having shown the officers to the bedroom, Pedro turned to Billy as they got to the bottom of the stairs. “I think you’re good.”

So he hadn’t been the only one feeling that! 

He kept his voice even however as he replied, “You think so?”

“Don’t come to any hasty conclusions just yet,” Mary said. Then she smiled. “But yeah, it seems like they believed our story.”

“Of course they did - we’re superheroes!”

Billy looked up to see Freddy and Eugene in the kitchen doorway - knowing them, they had probably overheard the whole conversation (and interrogation too).

A confused look crossed Mary’s face as she met Freddy’s gaze. “I don’t see your point.”

“You know, the whole,” he gestured wildly with his crutch, “the whole double lives thing. We’re practically deception experts by now!”

“We’ve literally been superheroes for _six weeks,_ ” Eugene deadpanned, looking up from his phone. 

“I know, right? So long!”

“What? _No,_ I meant-”

As the two of them continued bickering (Mary trying to play mediator while an amused Pedro egged them on with a well-placed word or two) Billy watched, unable to keep the smile off his face. The easy interrogation, Pedro and Mary’s assuring words and the obvious good humour in Eugene and Freddy’s retorts all washed over him.

_Maybe things will actually work out._

When the hope surged within him once again he didn’t push it away. 

:::

“It’s not there,” Jenkins said, throwing Billy’s backpack to the floor. 

“What do you mean ‘not there?’” Winton let out a frustrated growl, loud enough that Jenkins couldn’t help but glance at the bedroom door again. Still shut, thankfully. “Ugh! This is what I get for trusting a _coward_!”

“How was I supposed to know the cops weren’t on to us? I didn’t want to get caught with it on me!”

The glare she gave him was her most venomous yet - and that was saying something considering how often he was on the receiving end. 

To be fair, this time he kind of deserved it. He was the first to admit that hiding in a high school, freaking out when the cops drove by and stuffing the one thing they’d been working for months to steal into the first unsupervised backpack he saw hadn’t been his _brightest_ moment. But how was he supposed to know a kid would pick the backpack up before they could get the stupid thing back? This was only his fifth gig, after all!

Posing as parents curious about their kid’s friends they’d found out that the backpack’s owner was called Billy Batson, and from there it had been a cakewalk to find out his address and his previous history with the police. 

Their cover story had pretty much written itself after that and he’d felt pretty good about the whole thing, you know? Especially after seeing the kid and his siblings swallow it rod, line and sinker. He’d thought things finally, _finally_ would go their way. 

Well, all that hope was out the window now with the backpack being _freaking empty._

“There can only be one explanation,” Winton said, pulling him from his thoughts. “The kid must’ve found it.”

Of course! Jenkins wanted to slap himself - why hadn’t he thought of that? The previous scene replayed in his mind: Billy’s collected face. His almost defiant answers. His siblings on either side of him, nervous and protective all at once. 

That little _shit…_ he must’ve been playing them all along! 

“Then what are we waiting for?” He started towards the door, but Winton’s hand on his chest stopped him. 

“No. I’ll go down and bring him back here,” she said. “I don’t feel like hurting any more kids than I have to.”

The sentence sent a chill down his spine, but he nodded anyway. This kind of thing was a part of the job too, after all… even though they’d never had to beat up a kid before. 

_First time for everything, I guess._

As the door closed behind Winton with a final thud, Jenkins almost felt sorry for Billy Batson.

Almost. 


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the worse as Winton and Jenkins show their true colors...

**_Part 2_ **

“So… we won’t have to go to school today, right?” Freddy said, trying and failing to stave off a yawn. “Three and a half hours is  _ not  _ enough sleep to get through Mr. Waterstone’s math class awake.”

The corner of Billy’s mouth quirked up as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. “ _ Fourteen _ hours wouldn’t be enough.”

At a normal hour the joke probably wouldn’t have been that funny, but at half past two in the morning it was enough to make them both giggle. It was something Billy usually wouldn’t be caught dead doing, especially in front of the other siblings, but with the relief still flowing through him from the soon-to-be-over interrogation and sleep-deprivation muddling his senses he couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

“Come on, guys,” Mary said, smiling fondly at their antics from one of the bar chairs lining the kitchen island, “Mr. Waterstone’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad?” Freddy echoed disbelievingly, “He’s even more boring than Folding Paper Man - and that guy’s superpower is  _ turning himself paper thin _ !”

Billy snorted. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Worst supervillain ever. And guess which hero he was paired up against?”

“Who?”

“Freaking  _ Superman. _ ”

This time they both burst into full-out laughter. 

“ _ Mami  _ says we don’t have to go.” Sobering up a little, Billy looked over to where Eugene was sitting between Mary and Pedro at the kitchen island, waving the phone in his hand. “They’re taking the day off work too.”

Pedro’s comment summed up everyone’s thoughts. “Sweet.”

“Also, they just passed-”

Steps echoing on the stairs made Eugene cut the sentence short and all of them turned towards the kitchen entrance. As Winton appeared, Billy felt his mind going into semi-alertness once more. She looked serious. Then again, she’d looked serious the whole time she’d been in the house.

But there was something different this time. Something… off.

Her eyes settled on him. “I’d like you to come upstairs. We’ve got a few more questions before we go.”

More questions? What could they possibly want to ask more? Billy glanced at Mary, but it seemed like she didn’t find anything unusual about the request. Probably because there wasn’t, he reprimanded himself. Just because he was distrustful of pretty much everyone didn’t mean everyone  _ was  _ untrustworthy: one of the many things he’d learnt living with the Vasquez’s.

“Okay,” he said, pushing off the kitchen counter in a way he hoped didn’t show his trepidation. 

Mary and Pedro went to move forward too, but stopped as Winton raised a hand. “We’d like to talk to him alone.”

A beat of silence.

“Why’s that?” Freddy asked, frowning.

“My partner and I agreed it would be best.”

“But... there didn’t seem to be a problem before…?” Mary spoke slowly, seeming to choose her words with care. “You know, whatever you want to ask him you can ask in front of us.”

But Winton was already shaking her head. “I understand how you feel, but I’m afraid I have to insist.”

They seemed to reach an impasse there - Winton wanted him to come alone for whatever reason and despite not saying anything more, it was clear that Mary didn’t want him to. And Billy really appreciated that she cared that much, he truly did… but it also made him feel annoyed. He was  _ fourteen _ . He knew how to take care of himself - had done so for years, in fact. A few more questions from the cops was nothing to make a fuss about.

He didn’t need to be babied. 

“Mary, it’s fine,” he said, stepping forward. “I’ll go.”

Surprised, Mary met his gaze. “You’re sure?”

“ _ Yes _ .” The word came out harsher than he’d meant. 

“Great.” Winton made a beckoning gesture. “Let’s go.”

Trying to ignore his siblings’ concerned gazes, Billy left the kitchen. As he started up the stairs, Winton just behind, he let out a quiet breath. Untensed his shoulders. Stood a little straighter. Forced himself to feel calm. 

_ A few more questions. Just a few more questions.  _

They reached the bedroom. When they stepped inside Jenkins was in there, back turned. Winton closed the door. 

“So… what did you want to ask me?”

Jenkins turned around. A sudden feeling of  _ wrong, wrong, wrong  _ screamed through Billy and he took a step back… right into Winton. Her arms snaked around him - one around his chest, pinning his arms. The other reaching up to cover his mouth with a rough hand. 

_ What- what is- _

As from afar, he heard her say, “I think the sister’s on to us. Stand watch in the hallway. Make sure they don’t disturb us.”

Sending Billy a half-apologetic look, Jenkins drew a gun from his pocket and stepped outside. Billy watched, heart pounding so hard he couldn’t think. All he knew was that Winton and Jenkins weren’t who they said they were. That he and his siblings were in danger.

He needed to get her hand off his mouth, needed to  _ say the word- _

Winton’s lips right next to his ear made him freeze in his struggles. 

“This is how it’s going to go,” she said quietly, “I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to answer them. 

“If I find you lying to me; if you make too much noise; if you so much as  _ try  _ to alert the others... I will hurt you. 

“And Jenkins will hurt your siblings.”

:::

“What’s taking them so long?” Freddy said, worry making his voice sound a lot more whiny than he wished. 

Judging by the path Mary was wearing into the kitchen floor, she was thinking the same thing. ‘A few more questions’ Winton had called it, but now Billy and the cops had been gone for ages - twenty minutes at  _ least  _ \- and they hadn’t heard a thing. 

He sighed, fiddling with the grip of his crutch. “I don’t get it. Billy told them practically everything the first time - and they didn’t question a thing!”

“No, they didn’t,” Mary agreed, biting her lip. “They kind of seemed uninterested, in fact.”

“Right! A-and then they talk for a bit and suddenly they have a bunch of new questions? And want to talk to him alone? It doesn’t make sense.” He paused. “Do you think they’ve figured out our superhero thing?”

“How the heck would they have done that?” Eugene asked.

“Maybe there was something we said? I don’t know.”

“And if they had, wouldn’t they question us as well?”

“ _ I don’t know! _ Can you think of a better explanation?”

“I think Eugene’s right,” Mary interjected before the bickering could escalate. “The superhero angle just doesn’t fit with the rest - but then again, what else could it be?”

Eugene hummed in agreement, looking down at his phone once more as it went off. Probably _mama_ Rosa again, Freddy presumed.

“Something’s off, anyway,” Pedro murmured, shifting in his seat.

Mary nodded. “Five more minutes. Then I’m-”

A thud was heard from upstairs, making them all freeze. It was a quiet, barely there sound, normally something they’d have dismissed as the house shifting or the wind outside… but things weren’t exactly normal right now.

And there had been something with that sound that made Freddy’s stomach tighten. 

“That’s it,” was all Mary said before she hurried out of the kitchen, Pedro in tow. 

Freddy went to follow them too when Eugene suddenly let out an uncharacteristic yelp. Stopping in his tracks, Freddy turned around to see his brother staring at his phone, face pale.

“Please don’t tell me  _ mama  _ and dad have been in a car accident,” he said, tone warring between humour and fear because that would be  _ just their luck right now. _

Eugene met his gaze, mouth hanging slightly open. Then he rushed over and shoved the phone into Freddy’s hand. “You need to read this.”

It was an alert on the Justice League’s mission web page (Eugene had hacked into it a few weeks ago to keep them in the loop about new supervillains and such… and to find out where they had the biggest chance of running into said League to get autographs), sent out by the Philadelphia Police Department two minutes ago:

_ ALERT: CODE ORANGE _

_ PPD asking assistance in search for two (non-superpowered) culprits bearing highly classified information worth 250.000 USD, stolen from Philadelphia Research Center at 2.36 PM yesterday. Culprits last seen in vicinity of Fawcett Central School 12 hours ago. Apprehend immediately on sight.  _

The alert itself wasn’t what made Freddy’s mouth dry however. 

No. 

It was the picture included beneath it, taken from a security camera outside the research center. Despite the somewhat blurry quality, the two individuals were impossible to mistake.

Winton and Jenkins. 

:::

Mary had no idea what that thud had been. If she were to think about it reasonably, it probably wasn’t anything to worry about. But she was tired and stressed and, well,  _ worried _ , so reason could go jump out a window.

What she hadn’t expected though was to see Jenkins standing at the top of the staircase, hands in his pockets and brow furrowed at the sight of her and Pedro. Why was he out here? Shouldn’t he be…?

“You should go back downstairs,” Jenkins said. “Just some last things to ask, then we’ll come join you.”

Mary glanced past him, towards the bedroom. The door was closed. “We… we thought we heard something. Just wanted to make sure if everything’s okay.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” A nod. “Everything’s smooth sailing.”

Was he trying to convince them... or convince himself? Pedro’s hand came to rest lightly on her arm, only amplifying the warning bells already ringing in her mind. Her gaze flickered between Jenkins and the door. 

“Can we see Billy?” she asked slowly. 

Jenkins’ smile was strained. “There’s no need to worry. Just go back downstairs.”

“Please. We want to see him.”

“You will. As I said, we’ll come down once-”

“We. Want. To see him,” she repeated, forcing every ounce of determination into her voice. Doing her best to ignore the way her pulse picked up, speaking to an officer this way. 

“... No.”

“ _ Why not? _ ”

Silence settled over the corridor, thick enough to cut with a knife. But Mary refused to budge, staring at Jenkins as he worked his jaw. As he tried and failed to come up with an answer. 

Then in the quiet, Winton’s voice was heard from the bedroom. Words unintelligible, but harsh… followed by a muffled cry. 

Mary forgot how to breathe.

_ Billy.  _

A blur of motion passed her as Pedro raced up the last stair steps. But he stopped short in front of Jenkins, even taking a step back. In a daze, Mary’s eyes settled on the gun in the man’s hand. The gun pointing straight at them. 

“Let’s go back down to the kitchen, shall we?” Jenkins said conversationally, as if everything was normal. As if he wasn’t threatening them. As if they hadn’t just heard… heard…

This time, Pedro found his words quicker than her. “Let our brother go.”

“Sorry, can’t do that. You see, he has something of ours. Well, it was in his backpack but now it’s gone, so-” He frowned. “Wait, why am I explaining this to you? Come on, back up!”

Every instinct in her screamed against it, screamed against leaving Billy up there, but with the gun being waved in their faces they didn’t have much choice. She took a step back, Pedro beside her. Blood rushed in her ears, blurring her thoughts. 

It wasn’t until they reached the bottom of the stairs that she remembered:  _ Shazam!  _ The word burned at the tip of tongue, desperate to be said… but what about Pedro? And the others in the kitchen? If she transformed, and Jenkins started shooting… she couldn’t protect all three. She couldn’t be in three places at once. And no way was she risking her siblings getting hurt.

But Billy might already be, and if she didn’t do something  _ now... _

_ Think, Mary,  _ think!

They had to transform at the same time. That was the only way to keep everyone safe. But how would she get Pedro, Freddy and Eugene in on the plan without Jenkins noticing?

Said man’s voice brought her back to the present. “Hey, where the heck are the other two?”

Mary looked up. They were standing in the kitchen doorway… with Freddy and Eugene nowhere to be seen. Sharing a quick look with Pedro, she found the same question in his eyes.

Thunder rumbled outside in reply.

:::

Freddy and Eugene peered in through the kitchen window, careful not to reveal themselves with the shining lightning bolts on their chests. Mary, Pedro and Jenkins had just entered and were looking around the room - looking for them, no doubt. 

A chill ran through Freddy’s spine as he watched Jenkins’ mouth move in a frantic speech, the gun pointed at his two oldest siblings waving dangerously. Things had just gotten a lot more serious. 

“We need to do something,” Eugene said as they crouched to the side. His eyes were wide with worry. “ _ Fast. _ ”

Nodding, Freddy ran a hand through his (now much shorter) hair. His mind was already spinning. 

Mary and Pedro in the kitchen with Jenkins. Billy upstairs with Winton. If he and Eugene went after one of the bad guys, the other would be alerted by the noise… putting their siblings in even more danger. But if…

“I think we need to split up,” he whispered, turning back towards Eugene. “You help Mary and Pedro... I’ll help Billy.”

His brother thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Whoever deals with their bad guy the fastest’ll come help the other.”

“Yup. Probably me,” Freddy said, words way lighter than he was feeling right now.

“Pshh. You know I’ll be the fastest.”

“Uh huh. We’ll see about that.”

They shared a weak smile. Then, squeezing Eugene’s shoulder briefly, Freddy braced himself and took off into the air. 

The cape billowed behind him as he flew around the house, bedroom window quickly coming into view. Particles of moisture sparkling in the light flowing out from it. The dark wood of his and Billy’s desk just visible from this angle. 

Freddy paused, swallowing. He knew he needed to fly over to the window, get a feel of the situation in there… but a part of him was terrified.

Terrified of what he might see. 

_ Come on, Freddy. You’re a superhero. Superheroes are brave. _

Pulling in a deep breath, Freddy flew forward until he was right next to the window, back resting against the house’s wood panelling.

Then he bent over and glanced inside. 

:::

Eugene eased the front door shut behind him, entire body alert as he scanned the dark hallway for any sign of movement. Thankfully, Jenkins didn’t seem to have heard him - he could hear the man in the kitchen, still talking. Good. That meant Eugene still had the element of surprise on his side. 

For a moment he stopped, breathing in slowly. If this were a video game, what would he do?

One: Get eyes on the culprit. Two: Locate the hostages. Three: Devise plan to take out the culprit without putting said hostages in the line of fire. Four: Surprise attack. 

Right. He could do that. 

Never mind that the hostages were his siblings. Never mind that if he messed up they might get hurt or worse, actually  _ die- _

He forced the thoughts away. Forced himself back into the detached, concentrated mindset he reserved for video games. 

_ Focus on the mission. _

Flexing his fingers, he crept over the hardwood floor towards the kitchen, pressing his chest against the wall to dampen the glow of his suit’s lightning bolt (he had to remember to bring this up to the others later - how were they supposed to do stealth missions well walking around like freaking Christmas trees?), and snuck a look around the door frame. 

Jenkins was standing in the middle of the room, back towards him. His right arm slightly out to the side, holding the gun steadily trained on Mary and Pedro opposite him. Eugene’s breath hitched.

_ Focus, focus, focus… _

“-sure they’ll be back soon,” Mary was saying, shifting slightly towards Pedro. “They… they probably went to the bathroom.”

The laugh that left Jenkins was not a particularly happy one. “You really think I’m that stupid?” He sighed. “This is  _ not  _ how I pictured spending my Thursday night. Or Friday morning. I-”

He cut himself off as the sound of glass shattering rang through the air, coming from upstairs. Automatically, his head moved slightly in its direction… away from Mary and Pedro. 

_ Now! _

Eugene lunged forward, lashing his hands out. Tongues of lightning slithered from his palms, crackling, sparking, blindingly white… hitting the fake cop right in the back. He jerked, a strangled sound escaping his lips. His fingers involuntarily tightening around the trigger.

_ Oh no... _

As if in slow motion Eugene watched as the bullet exploded from the gun barrel. As Jenkins toppled forward. As his siblings, standing side by side, shouted “ _ Shazam! _ ”.

The house plunged into darkness.

:::

Blood dripped slowly from Billy’s torn bottom lip, staining the bedroom floor with red. He watched, strangely fascinated, as a drop fell between his knees, splattering on the smooth wood beneath them like an abstract flower. 

Who knew biting through your lip would make it bleed this much?

Hopefully the wound wasn’t that bad. One kid at his first group home had bitten through so terribly that they’d had problems eating for  _ weeks  _ because of the swelling. But that had been clean through the whole lip. For him it was only the top part… maybe? Honestly, he wasn’t really sure - merely touching it with his tongue was uncomfortable.

Either way, he probably wouldn’t be able to eat normal dinner tomorrow. It was Freddy’s turn to cook. Such a  _ shame  _ he’d miss it. 

His tiny smile quickly disappeared as pain flared up through his arm and shoulder again. The gasp left him before he could stop it. 

“Don’t think I’m enjoying this. I’m not.” Winton loosened the pressure on the wrist she’d twisted up behind his back. But not much. Her voice was tired as she continued, “Just tell me where it is.”

A laugh built in Billy’s throat. “How m-” He winced as his lips met, but forced himself to croak the words out, “many time-es do I have to tell you? I don’t have your stupid flash drive. I nev-ver did.”

“And how many times,” she snapped, “have I told you to stop.  _ Lying! _ ”

She thrust his hand upwards again and everything caught fire. White, scalding, it traveled through his arm to his shoulder, his lungs, his  _ mind... _ It took all he had, all he knew to clench his jaw shut, to  _ not scream, not scream, not scr- _

The pressure lessened and he slumped forward, her grip on his other shoulder the only thing keeping him from keeling over completely. Tears mixed with the blood from his lip - it was dripping more steadily now. Filling his mouth with salt and copper.

Winton was going to break his arm, he realized with startling clarity. It was the only way he could see this ending. That, or…

The sound of glass smashing exploded through the air. Billy barely had time to register the flash of yellow before the hand clenching his wrist was ripped away, sending him sprawling.

“ _ Get the hell away from him! _ ”

That voice. 

He’d know it anywhere. 

An involuntary sob escaped his lips as he looked up at Freddy, Freddy standing protectively over him in all his superhero glory, Freddy glaring daggers as Winton slowly got back on her feet.  _ Freddy.  _

“You... you’re one of them.” Winton gingerly clutched the back of her head, fear and astonishment warring in her eyes. “From the superhero team.”

“You bet I am. And you’re going to jail, you… you criminal!”

She opened her mouth to reply when suddenly a yell was heard from downstairs… a gunshot… then darkness swallowed the room. 

By the time the light came back, Winton was nowhere to be seen. 

:::

The blackout couldn’t have lasted more than two seconds. Maybe three. But that moment, gunshot ringing in his ears, was one of the longest Freddy had ever experienced. Fear spiked in him at the thought of Billy being hit. Decreased as he realized the sound had come from further away. Increased rapidly again as he remembered Mary, Pedro and Eugene downstairs. 

_ No. Nonononono- _

His mind was still a mess as the lamps turned back on, all kinds of thoughts and images whirling through it in a horrific, violent show. If anything had happened to them...

It was only then he noticed the wide open bedroom door. Heard the rapid footfalls on the stairs. Realized he and Billy were the only ones in the room. Freddy met Billy’s equally terrified gaze. 

Then he ran.

He’d barely made it to the stairs when the lights flickered again and a bolt of red and yellow shot past him. Billy.

_ Go back upstairs, you idiot!  _ he wanted to yell after him as the scene upstairs replayed in his mind (Winton twisting Billy arm up, the blood dripping from his lip, and his face, god  _ his face- _ ), but his brother had already disappeared out of sight and all Freddy could do was run faster. 

_ You absolute, complete, utter MORON, you’re hurt and Mary, Pedro or Eugene might be too and goddammit why- _

His internal monologue cut short as he reached the bottom of the stairs to see superhero-Billy pressing Winton up against the hallway wall in a similar arm lock to the one she’d just had him in. Even though pain wasn’t transferred from one body to the other, the memory of it still remained, evident in Billy’s shaking hands, the watery quality to his eyes. He held firm however as Winton squirmed, trying to get away. 

“Not so fun being on the other end, is it?” Freddy couldn’t help but shout. “But compared to you, Sir Zapsalot is a good guy who doesn’t try to break people’s arm for  _ no reason  _ and-”

“What- what’s going on?”

His head snapped towards the kitchen just in time to see Mary, Eugene and Pedro racing out of the kitchen, all in their superhero forms, different shades of worry clouding their faces and… was that a knocked-out Jenkins Pedro had under one arm?!

Everything pretty much descended into chaos after that, everyone yelling over top of each other in a cacophony of “Are you okay?”, “What  _ happened? _ ”, “Who the heck are these two and why did they attack u- this house?!” and “Seriously, are you guys okay?!”. To be honest, Freddy’s attempts at explaining his side of the story might’ve made things even more confusing, but his heart was still thundering in his chest and if he didn’t release the pressure by talking he would  _ explode _ , alright?

Finally they managed to bring one another (kind of) up to speed and silence enveloped them, everyone seemingly needing a moment to process everything. At least, that was what Freddy needed because  _ damn,  _ had this night been crazy. And long. So, so long. If he slept for two days after this, he wouldn’t even be surprised.

A groan from a slowly awakening Jenkins set them back into action. 

“We… we should probably take these two to jail,” Mary sighed. She looked exhausted. 

Pedro glanced between them all, noting Mary’s tiredness as Freddy had, the way Billy was trying and failing to stop shaking, whatever the heck Freddy had playing across his face (honestly, Freddy wasn’t sure himself). Then he turned to Eugene, who oddly enough looked the most awake of them all. “You and me?”

Eugene looked over at Mary. 

“Alright,” she said, much to Freddy’s surprise. “Just… no unnecessary electric shocks, okay?”

Eugene’s gaze shifted briefly over to Billy. “No promises.”

“ _ Eu-  _ I mean, uh,  _ Gray Lightning. _ ”

Freddy couldn’t help but wince at the very basic codename Mary provided. Man, they really needed to figure out their superhero names soon. He’d start on an idea list once he’d had some sleep.

It seemed Mary had gotten her point across anyway, as Eugene huffed out an “Ugh, fine,” before grabbing Winton from Billy and pulling her out the front door, Pedro with Jenkins in tow. Freddy couldn’t help the small burst of malicious joy that went through him at Winton’s shriek as the superheroes shot off into the sky. Hopefully whatever she and Jenkins had stolen meant they’d stay in jail for many years. Or forever.

Mary took a step towards Billy. “Are you okay?” she asked again. 

“No, he isn’t,” Freddy said before his brother could say ‘I’m fine’ or something equally as stupid. “His lip’s busted - like, really busted - a-and his arm might be dislocated? I don’t know, but it probably freaking hurts either way. Do we have ice packs? Because I think we need ice packs. And there might be other stuff that happened before...” He swallowed, “before I burst in, so… yeah.”

Billy shifted. “It looked worse than it was.” The way he subconsciously embraced himself told a different story however.

_ Man, I wish I could’ve punched Winton in the face. At least once.  _

Apparently Mary was just as convinced by Billy’s response, because all she got out was a trembling, “Can I hug you?” before launching herself forward at his nod, pulling him to her like she never planned on letting him go. 

Honestly it looked quite funny, Billy being a lot taller than her in this body, and any other time Freddy would’ve laughed at the sight. But not now. 

Now all he could think about, all he could feel was the heavy weight lifting from his lungs as the truth finally sunk in: it was over. It was all over and they were safe.

His siblings were  _ safe.  _

_Not okay,_ he thought as he watched Mary and Billy tighten their hold on each other. As the images of Billy - his brother, his best friend - sitting beaten, bleeding, _in pain_ on their bedroom floor replayed again and again in his mind. _Not by a long shot. But safe._

Freddy looked up towards the roof, desperately trying to keep the tears from spilling over. 

:::

Billy heard the tell-tale uneven gait even before the door opened behind him. 

“Here,” Freddy said, handing him a frozen bag of peas wrapped in a towel as he slumped down next to him on the back porch. A quick glance back told him Freddy had come alone. Good. He wasn’t sure he could handle interacting with everyone right now. Not without feeling overwhelmed.

“I couldn’t find any ice packs,” Freddy continued, “except one with a hole in it so the whole bottom of the med kit was covered in that blue - what even is it, some kind of gel? Anyway, there were no whole ones so I thought this could work instead. Mary told me to wrap it in the towel - apparently ice directly on skin will just make things worse?” He paused frowned. “Do you think that applies to Aquaman too? ‘Cause then fighting supervillains in the Arctic Sea would  _ suck. _ ”

Billy smiled, though it quickly turned to a wince as it pulled on his split lip. “He probably has armoured skin or something. Like a crocodile,” he answered, placing the bundle carefully against the injury and sighing as glorious numbness spread across it. “Thanks.”

“Pfft, yeah, probably. And you’re welcome.” Freddy grinned weakly before looking down, fiddling with the handle of his crutch.. “By the way, Pedro and Eugene are back.”

“Already?” It couldn’t have been, what, more than forty-five minutes since they left? 

“Yeah. They made an excuse to the cops about another superhero emergency. Wanted to be home before  _ mama  _ and dad.”

Billy hesitated a moment before asking, “Winton and Jenkins?”

“Locked up. Probably going to jail for life. The cops said we’d get called into the station sometime this week to give statements and stuff.” He paused. “No leads on that flash drive they were after though.”

“Huh. Wonder what happened to it?”

Freddy shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe they got the wrong backpack? Either way, they’ll probably never find it again.”

“Sucks for the government.”  _ And for us who got caught in the crossfire. _

For a moment, the two of them sat in silence, each in their own thoughts. Shades of blue and gray were colouring the horizon, just visible between the surrounding houses - sunrise wasn’t far off.  _ Sunrise _ .

How could it only have been a few hours since this whole mess began? If someone told him they’d been stuck in a time loop and it’d actually been two days, he might actually have believed them. 

“How’s, um, how’s your arm?”

Billy resisted the urge to shrug, knowing it’d just upset his still tender shoulder. He did however swing the arm a little back and forth, keeping his tone light as he replied, “As good as can be expected, I guess.”

“Yeah… guess so.”

Frowning, Billy glanced over, but Freddy wouldn’t meet his gaze. Just kept staring at his fingers, idly playing with the crutch handle. Had he said something wrong? 

His suspicions grew stronger as Freddy let out a quiet sniffle.  _ Crap.  _

“Sorry.”

That made Freddy look up. “Sorry?” he echoed, quickly wiping at his eyes. As if Billy might not notice the tears if he dried them fast enough. “For what?”

“I don’t know.” Billy shifted, looking away. “For… for upsetting you. Or whatever.”

“ _ What?  _ No! You didn’t- No.”

Billy pressed the bundle back against his lip to hide the little sigh of relief that escaped him. 

But if it wasn’t his fault… then what?

“It’s just,” Freddy began after a moment, voice barely more than a whisper. “I… I thought she’d kill you.”

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Memories flickered past in his mind - cold, brown eyes, blood on the floor, wrist caught in a bruising grip - as he tried to figure out what the heck to respond to that. What even  _ could  _ you respond? 

“She wasn’t going to,” he said eventually, trying to sound reassuring. “Kinda defeats the point of torturing someone for information, you know.”

Freddy visibly winced at that, dropping his head to tug at his curls, and Billy closed his eyes. Shit, he was screwing this up completely, wasn’t he? ‘Sorry’ lingered on his tongue once more, but he knew better than to say it. 

Finally, Freddy looked up and  _ goddammit  _ if the glassy look to his eyes didn’t make Billy want to cry too. 

“Just… why didn’t you transform? You could’ve kicked their _butts._ Heck, _together_ we could’ve kicked their butts three times over.”

_ If I find you lying to me; if you make too much noise; if you so much as try to alert the others... I will hurt you.  _

_ And Jenkins will hurt your siblings. _

Hand over his mouth. Breath ghosting just beneath his ear. Voice as clear as if she was still standing behind him. 

A shiver ran down Billy’s spine as he busied himself with rewrapping the bag of peas, stalling for time to think. But he knew this was something he couldn’t lie about. Not to Freddy.

“Jenkins left the room. W-with a gun. And she said that if I did something he’d find you and…” And he was crying for real now. Great. Just  _ great.  _ “I couldn’t risk it.”

The admission hung in the air between them, fragile and heavy all at once. Expanding until the very air felt heavy to breathe. Billy curled tighter in on himself, eyes downcast. Why wasn’t Freddy saying anything?!

Then, “Billy, you… you absolute  _ idiot! _ ” 

For a second, Billy wasn’t sure he’d heard him right.

Because of everything,  _ everything  _ he could’ve said… 

He whipped his head up, fixing Freddy with a glare. “I’m an idiot for trying to  _ save you?” _

“No!” Freddy half-yelled, glaring right back. “For not saving yourself! For forgetting that the rest of us have superpowers too and can become freaking  _ bullet-proof -  _ that’s why!”

“And if you hadn’t transformed in time?” Billy snarled. “Do you honestly think I’d be able to live with myself, knowing it was my fault you got hurt?”

“Yeah? Well, do you think I’ll be able to live with myself, knowing what Winton put you through?!”

The air seemed to go out of both of them then. Anger gone as quickly as it came as the terrifying reality of the earlier situation came crashing back down. Of how much worse it could’ve become. 

“Guess we won’t have to go to the cinema to see horror movies for a while, huh?” Freddy rubbed at his eyes, releasing a shaky chuckle.”We won’t even have to leave our room.”

Billy hummed in agreement, once again not knowing how to express the feelings coursing through him. How to talk around the lump in his throat. How to comfort his brother. What did normal people do in these situations? Was this… was this when hugs happened? 

… Would it be weird if he tried? 

Tentatively, he set the provisionary ice pack on the porch behind them and - when Freddy didn’t move - reached out. His arm barely made contact where it rested across the other boy’s shoulders, ready to be removed at the first sign of discomfort. 

Freddy let out a shuddering sigh. Then he flung his arms around Billy.

For a second Billy simply sat there, stunned, before returning the embrace. Relaxing into the touch. His shoulder twinged at the movement, but he didn’t care. Not with the sensation of having his friend and brother so close. 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Freddy murmured against his shoulder. “Mostly, anyway.”

“... You too. And thanks. For, um, breaking a window for me.”

A small laugh. “Anytime.”

:::

Mary, Eugene and Pedro were sitting on the couch, leaning against each other and half-sleeping, when Darla came flying into the room. How she’d managed to sleep through all the chaos of the past few hours Mary had no idea - maybe because her bedroom door had been closed? Whatever the reason, she couldn’t be more thankful. At least that had meant one sibling was safe. 

“Hey, why’s everyone up so early?” Darla was asking with a big yawn. Then she let out a loud squeal. “Ohmygosh Mary you’re hoooome!”

As Mary pulled her little sister, still chattering excitedly, close, she struggled at first to remember what she meant: home from college. Had it really been only five hours since she began the drive? Honestly, it felt like a lifetime ago. 

“Where’s Billy and Freddy?” Darla said after greeting the other two as well. “Still sleeping?”

Pedro gestured to the side with his head. “On the porch.”

“It’s probably best to leave them alone right now,” Mary quickly added as Darla started to get up. “Give them some space.”

“Oh. Okay.” She paused, worrying her lip. “Billy’s not mad about his pencil case, is he? I couldn’t find mine when I was gonna do homework so I borrowed his, but I forgot to put it back.”

“No, of course not. They just-”

Suddenly Eugene flew up from the couch, nearly knocking the glasses off his nose. “You have Billy’s pencil case?!” he shrieked. “Where did you get it? His backpack? It must’ve been from his backpack, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

A second passed. Then Mary understood. 

“Oh my god,” she whispered, meeting the gazes of her brothers. 

As Eugene took off down the hall, yelling “BILLY! FREDDY!” like a maniac, Pedro turned to Darla. “Where’s it now?”

Soon all of them, including Billy and Freddy, were up in Darla’s room, sitting in a semicircle on the floor. In the middle was Billy’s pencil case, dark blue and with the broken zipper that refused to close. 

Trembling with excitement, Eugene rifled through it… and pulled out a small metal object. A flash drive.

They all leaned forward to get a closer look at the thing. The thing Winton and Jenkins had worked so hard to get back. This tiny, inconspicuous thing worth a fortune.

“Guess we need to make another trip to the police station,” Billy said quietly, sounding as dazed as the others were. 

Mary felt herself nod. “Guess so.”

The sound of Freddy’s barely muffled snort cut through the serious atmosphere.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Freddy answered Eugene’s question, struggling to keep a straight face, “Except for the fact that technically  _ Darla’s homework _ saved the day.”

“I’m so confused,” Darla said as the others burst into laughter. 

Mary wrapped an arm around her, lips still quirked up. “I’ll explain the basics later.”

And as they sat there, talking and smiling and reveling in the safety of each other, the first rays of sunshine broke through the bedroom window.

The long night was finally over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Victor and Rosa came home and showered them in hugs and forehead kisses and love because that's what they deserve after all the crap I put them through.
> 
> Seriously though, if you made to the end, thank you so much for reading! :)


End file.
